Meals Included

Map

This small group tour of Tuscany, which departs from Rome offers guests incredible sights in Italy's central regions and the art capital of Florence. On this tour we enjoy the Chianti Hamlets, the glories of Southern Tuscany and even some of the towns which border Tuscany's border in the region of Umbria.

In Tuscany we base ourselves in the town of Cortona which Francis Mayes made famous in her novel Under the Tuscan Sun.

From here we venture into the delightful hill towns of Souther Tuscany including Pienza and the region knows as the Val D'Orcia which is a UNESCO World Heritgage site snad one of the most inspiring and and beautiful areas in Italy.

This tour truly does offer the best of what Tuscany has to offer including wonderful restaurants, beautiful wineries and numerous opportunities to interact with local Tuscan artisans who create beautifu, one-of-a-kind treasures from leather works to fine jewelry, clothing, olive oil and some of the finest wines in Italy.

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Itinerary

Day
1 : Depart Rome for Siena and Tuscany

Meeting Location : Hotel

Description :

In the morning, we will pick you up at the hotel in Rome and depart to the picturesque, medieval town of Siena.
The drive itself is a magnificent path along the roads of Tuscany, where it is possible to enjoy the view of hills covered by vineyards, olive trees, small villages and original bell towers. Lunch will be served in a typical farm house near Montepulciano, where it is possible to see the hills covered by vineyards and olive trees.
Upon arrival in Siena, meeting with your local guide and departure for a walking tour of Siena, probably Italy's loveliest medieval city. Siena's heart is the piazza del'Campo, where the famous horse race Il Palio takes place two times each summer. The town offer magnificent artistic masterpieces and incredible views over the Tuscan region in all directions.
From Siena, we continue on to Florence and en route stop in San Gimignano. The town is listed as a World Heritage site and fascinates for its medieval look. Its high towers create a unique skyline.
Enjoy the village on your own.
Arrival in Florence in the evening and overnight.

Meals :
Breakfast, Lunch

Day
2 : Florence

Description :

In the morning, enjoy a walking tour of the city with guide.
Lorenzo de Medici transformed Florence into the cradle of the Renaissance by attracting the best artists, architects and writers of the time such as Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Botticelli to whom he commissioned various works. Visit Piazza della Signoria, Palazzo Vecchio, the Dome with Giotto's bell tower, Ponte Vecchio, Santa Croce.
Spend the afternoon at leisure exploring Florence on your own, visiting the Uffizi or the Accademia or taking the opportunity to visit Pisa or Lucca.
Dinner will be served in a local Tuscan restaurant.
Overnight in Florence.

Meals :
Breakfast, Dinner

Day
3 : The hill towns of Chianti and Cortona

Description :

After a delicious buffet breakfast at the hotel, we will begin our journey through the Southern Hills of Tuscany to the beautiful town of Cortona.
Today discover Chianti with your driver-guide.
En route stop in the most intriguing villages of Chianti. This is a name we often hear the sound no matter what Restaurant in the world wine lovers go, this name comes from a land where luscious hills takes over the landascape and where tranquillity, good wine and food do the rest.
Visit Greve in Chianti and Radda, with their castle, vineyeards, small churches in the countries.
The lunch will be served in a typical farm house and during the drive, there will be many chances to taste the world-known red wine named Chianti.
Late afternoon arrival in Cortona.
Dinner and overnight.

Meals :
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day
4 :

Description :

Meals :
Not applicable

Day
5 : Assisi and Perugia

Description :

Today discover with your driver guide Umbria, the green heart of Italia. Visit Perugia, located almost in the geographical centre of Italy. Perugia is a lively medieval walled hill town with historic buildings, people-filled squares, and modern shops. Etruscan remains are still visible in several places. Free time for lunch in town. Continue the day and discover on your own Assisi, the small magnificent village of St.Francis.
Return to the hotel for dinner.
Overnight in Cortona.

Meals :
Breakfast, Dinner

Day
6 : Time to Say Goodbye!

Description :

After a delicious buffet breakfast at the hotel in Rome this morning it will be time to say Arrivaderci.
Upon completion of the tour in Rome we will be delighted to offer you a complimentary transfer to the airport, rail station and/or provide additional nights and services as per your requirements in Rome.

Meals :
Breakfast

Tour Highlights and What's Included

Accommodation in superior four star hotels throughout

Cellar Tour

Dinners where indicated with wine included

English speaking guide and driver

English speaking tour escort for the duration of the tour

Fuel

Ground transportation by deluxe motorcoach

Guide book "Discover Italy"

Luggage handling at hotel

Meals as indicated in the itinerary

Road Tolls

Visit of Perugia with Guide

Visit of Siena and San Gimignano

Walking Tour of Florence

Wine and Olive Oil Tastings in Chianti and Montepulciano

Wine Tastings

Winery Visits

What's Not Included

Airport departure taxes

Departure Transfer

Food and beverages not mentioned in the program

Gratuities of any type

International fights

Luggage Handling at Airport

Optional excursions during your tour

Personal Expenses or Extras at hotels

Travel Insurance

Region

Umbria

Umbria is one of the most remarkably natural beautiful regions in Italy. Located in the very centre of Italy, it is approximately 1 hour north of Rome and 1 hour south of Florence. It borders the regions of Lazio, Tuscany and Le Marche, making it an ideal region to base oneself for a holiday and enjoy day trips. This region is also becoming a favorite holiday spot for visitors to Italy because it is remarkably less expensive than Tuscany and offers considerable more value for money, since Umbria is less of a touristic destination than Tuscany and in this sense we believe in some ways Umbria offers more value for money since the prices in Umbria are still very reasonable compared to Tuscany, its more frequently visited neighbor to the north.

Assisi is perhaps the town most famous in Umbria, for it is where St. Francis of Assisi lived and one of the regions most important cathedrals and the Duomo of San Francesco is located there.

The town, like many in the Umbria region is located overlooking a sea of green countryside dotted with vineyards, olive groves and farms.

This patchwork quilt of green countryside, the lush valleys between high hills make for naturally beautiful geography, some of the most pristine and dramatic in Italy.

Perugia, is the capital of the region and is home to one of Italy's largest Universities for foreign students called 'Universita' per Stranieri' and is located about 30 minutes north of Assisi.

Great places for making a holiday in Umbria include:

Orvieto

Assisi

Trevi

Montefalco

Spoleto

Lago Trasimeno

Bevagna

For great holiday ideas in Umbria, get in touch with the experts! 1-866-779-2565

Tuscany

Tuscany is among the most beautiful regions of Italy. The gentle curves and slopes of the land will enchant you. Tuscany is as famous for its wine and cuisine as it is for its landscapes. Wine production focuses on red wines like Chianti, San Giovese, Rosso di Montalcino, Rosso di Montepulciano, Bolgheri, and others.

Food is prepared with seasonal ingredients and enjoyed quietly by charming views. There are many medieval towns and castles, and in each of them you can find a treasure or two; it can be a painting by a famous artist hidden in an unusual church, a meal prepared by a passionate cook, or a great conversation with a local - whatever it is, for sure will be genuine.

Journeying through the hills and valleys, discovering the beauty of the land and the calm within yourself has attracted seekers of life and love to beautiful Tuscany for many years. The tradition continues to this day, and Tuscany welcomes them with her open arms. Major attractions: small and bigger medieval towns including Siena, San Gimignano, Monteriggioni, Volterra, Certaldo, Greve in Chianti, Montalcino, Montepulciano, Cortona, Pienza, and many others. Major festivals and events: Siena's Palio horse race, Puccini's Summer Opera Festival in Torre del Lago, Arezzo's Saracen Joust, Estate Fiesolana Music Festival, Cortona music and food festival, other local festivals.)

City

Rome

Rome is known as the 'Eternal City', the centre of Western Civilization and one of the most widely visited cities in the world. It is a city of contrasts, both ancient and modern. Romantic and harsh. It is a place of beautiful warm light and many dark corners.

The layers of history in Rome are second to none in the world and to appreciate Rome, in all its glory, it is useful and helpful to have some understanding of what happened here over the centuries. Whether you do tours with us or another company, it is most helpful to read - do guided tours - watch films.

This city is one of the most important cultural, artistic and intellectual centres in Europe. It is also home to Vatican City, the centre of the Catholic Church.

The history of Rome and Vatican City draw over 58 million visitors each year, almost as many people who live in Italy.

Siena

Siena is reknowned, both nationally and internationally, for the Palio horse race contested by the 17 contrada which divide this small city. But Siena is also unique thanks to its maze of narrow streets, its numerous towers and elegant town houses, the immense Piazza del Campo and the Cathedral which dominate the heart of the Medieval city encircled by impressive walls.

Those living in Siena enjoy an incredibly high quality of life. It is also the first city in Italy to close its center to traffic. As far as culture is concerned, Siena has been a city of great artistic significance since ancient times with internationally acclaimed institutions such as theChigiana Musical Academy, the Accademia dei Fisiocritici and Accademia degli Intronati, as well as the University for Foreigners.

Sites not to be missed: the Church of St Domenico, the Church of St Francesco, theDiocesan Museum of Sacred Art and Palazzo Salimbeni which houses important frescoes. The surrounding countryside is superbly peaceful with vineyards, olive groves,medieval hamlets and castles. The gastronomic traditions have gained international fame with the sweet Panpepato, Ricciarelli and Cavallucci being exported throughout the world.

Florence

Once the hub of the Renaissance, Florence is still a city marked by outstanding cultural and artistic splendor. In the modern day this translates into some of the best shopping anywhere for fine products from leather to gold. A perennial favorite of tourists and home to such historical figures as Machiavelli and the Medici clan, all of the finest aspects of Renaissance culture, from literature and art to theater and music still flourish here.

Besides tourism, food and wine production are also prominent industries in this city, which is the main city of the Tuscany wine-producing region. The Uffizi Gallery and Accademia Museum house two of the world’s great art collections and seeing the David by Michealangelo, at the Accademia is a moment never to be forgotten.

The Duomo in Florence is as breathtaking as it is massive. This amazing structure can be seen from many vantage points near the city center and it looms in its majesty above the city’s interesting architecture and unique streets. Major attractions: Uffizi museum, Accademia museum with the David, Piazza della Signoria, Duomo di Santa Maria del Fiore, Santa Croce and Santa Maria Novella churches and squares. Other museums of notice are Palazzo Vecchio, Palazzo Pitti with the Silver museum, the Boboli Gardens and the Palatine Gallery, the Brancacci Chapel, the Museum San Marco. Major theaters and events: Teatro Comunale, Teatro della Pergola, Toscana Opera Festival, Teatro Verdi.

Town

Montepulciano

Encircled by walls and fortifications designed and built starting 1511 AD by Antonio da Sangallo on the orders of the great Florentine, Cosmo I, Montepulciano cascades down a limestone ridge whose highest point is over 600 meters (1950 feet) above sea level.

The long and winding main street of Montepulciano extends from the Porta al Prato for 11.5 km to the Piazza Grande, and will take the traveler through the old medieval districts of one of the most pleasant and satisfying of all Tuscan cities.

The Piazza, fronted by most of the city's most notable buildings, including the Palazzo Comunale and the Duomo, perches at the utmost top of the hill, where Poliziani (the name the citizens give to themselves) mingle with visitors from nearby and far away.

The Duomo, with its plain, almost unfinished facade, was designed and built by Ippolito Scalza in 1630. The most important work of art in the interior is a triptych done in 1401 by Bartolo, the "Assumption of the Virgin".

The Palazzo Comunale, a seemingly smaller version of Palazzo Vecchio, was built originally in the Gothic style, but the tower and facade were added in the 15th Century by Michelozzo. Visitors are welcome to climb the tower where breathtaking views over the city and across the Tuscan countryside can be absorbed. Next to the town hall is the Palazzo Tarugi, built in the 16th century.

Close by is the Chiesa Sant'Agostino, built in 1427 with a mix of Gothic and Renaissance elements by the architect, Michelozzo. Note the elaborately carved portal. The Palazzo Bucelli (1648), also close by, has a lower facade into which are integrated Etruscan bas relief and funerary urns.

The Church of Jesus was built with a quasi circular plan by the Jesuit architect, Fra Andrea Pozzo. Pozzo also worked on various other buildings in Montepulciano including the Palazzo Contucci (see above).

Sangallo the Elder also built the Temple of Madonna di San Biaglio, flanked by two campanile (bell towers) outside the city gates. It is also a Renaissance building built with butter- colored Travertine marble. Sangallo started it in 1518, and remained pre-occupied with it until his death in 1534 and it is rightly recognized as his masterpiece. The design influence or inspired the architects of many of the palazzi in Montepulciano such as Palazzi Avignose, Cocconi, Cervini, Ganoni-Grugni, Contucci and Tarug (see above).

Also outside the walls and worth a peek are Chiesa Santa Chiara and Chiera Santa Maria, both done in the Baroque style.

Montepulciano is, of course, famous for its wines, particularly the Vino Nobile, a mellow red wine that evokes the scent of flowers and is shot through with a kind of iridescent orange color. There are many less agreeable things to do than sit in one of the city's many cafes or restaurants to imbibe a glass (or two!) or purchase a bottle (or two!) at a local shop, which you can consume later during a lazy Tuscan picnic.

Montepulciano is also the scene of a few enlivening annual festivals. Arrive in late July-early August for the Cantiere Internazionale d'Arte arts festival founded by the German composer Hans Werner Henze. Re-enactments of Montepulciano's turbulent history take place at the Brucello festival in mid August, and there is a parade, barrel race and banquet at the end of August, the Bravio dell Botti.